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O'McPub Band

  • Home
  • Upcoming Shows
  • About O'McPub Band
  • Video
  • Playlist
  • Photos
  • Reach Out
  • Store

Upcoming Shows

College Park Farmer's Market

College Park Farmer's Market

Saturday, June 3 @ 9:00AM — 12:00PM (EDT, UTC-04)Sat, Jun 3 @ 9:00AM — 12:00PM (EDT, UTC-04)

College Park Farmer's Market Paint Branch Parkway, 5211 Campus Drive , College Park, MD 20740

Enjoy some tunes in the morning while getting some fresh produce, coffee, flowers, soaps, and other locally created goods!

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Brentwood Porchfest

Brentwood Porchfest

Sunday, June 4 @ 2:30PM (EDT, UTC-04)Sun, Jun 4 @ 2:30PM (EDT, UTC-04)

Brentwood, MD, 3400 Upshur Street, Brentwood, MD

The group moves from porch to porch and each musician plays for 15-20 minutes. Looking forward to playing some tunes and hearing other musicians sharing their music!

2:00 Moses Amaro, Singer/Songwriter, 3420 Tilden Street 2:30 O'McPub Band, Irish Folk, 3400 Upshur Street 3:00 Abe Mamet, Singer/Songwriter, 3404 Upshur Street 3:30 Hope & Alex, Singer/Songwriters, 3408 Upshur Street 4:00 Lisa Walker, Singer/Songwriter, 3600 Varnum Street 4:30 Stefan Leggin, Acoustic Rock, 3604 Varnum Street 5:00 Joe Dolan Band, Acoustic Rock w. Flute, 3605 Varnum Street

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Irish Session - Bring Your Instruments

Irish Session - Bring Your Instruments

Sunday, June 11 @ 11:00AM — 1:00PM (EDT, UTC-04)Sun, Jun 11 @ 11:00AM — 1:00PM (EDT, UTC-04)

Maryland Meadworks, 4700 Rhode Island Ave. Suite Bee , Hyattsville, MD 20781

Brandon the Traveling Bard and Ryan from the O'McPub Band are joining forces to bring an Irish session to Hyattsville!

What is an Irish Session?

Irish sessions are fun gatherings of musicians sharing tunes and conversations in a relaxed setting. They can be an important part of an area’s Irish music community, passing along tunes and the tradition. While sessions can and do exist in private homes, today many sessions take place in pubs and other public spaces.

It’s important to note that Irish sessions are not open jam sessions that musicians might encounter in other genres and styles. An Irish session’s focus is on the instrumental tunes (and sometimes songs) found within the Irish tradition – reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas, slip jigs, and the like. To that end, improvising or “jamming” over the tunes played at an Irish session is not okay! Everyone is more than welcome to watch and listen to a session, but musicians from outside the Irish tradition should note that experience playing Irish music is an unwritten perquisite of joining the session.

Session Leaders Some sessions have experienced musicians in charge of starting sets of tunes or just keeping the music flowing. Sometimes sessions are more open and don’t have formal leaders. Either way, a general guideline is to musically follow whoever starts a set of tunes. If you start a set of tunes (see below), you’re in the drivers’ seat, so have a follow up tune in mind and stay strong during the transition!

Tune Sets Multiple tunes are typically arranged in sets of like tune types. For example, instead of playing one jig, the leader of a set of tunes will likely pick three jigs to play together (usually repeating each tune up to three times before going into the next tune). Sometimes leaders will tell the other musicians which tunes will be played and sometimes not! Remember, listening is important.

Conversations Between sets of tunes, musicians will likely have a chat. These chats are just as important as the tunes! It’s okay to have some space between sets of tunes, so if you’re new to the session, take your cues from the session leaders before starting up music that might interrupt a good chat.

Session Etiquette Each session might have unwritten house “rules” or guidelines on how the session operates. Some general rules of thumb to keep in mind:

  1. Sit out on tunes that you don’t know (don’t drone or noodle along)
  2. Chordal accompaniment and bodhran players should take turns
  3. Don’t be afraid to ask for the name of a tune that you’d like to learn!
  4. Ask if you can record the session's tunes on your phone or device to learn tunes at home.

  5. Explanation adapted from The Milwaukee Irish Fest School of Music https://irishfestschoolofmusic.com/Blog/What-Is-An-Irish-Session.htm

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O'McPub Band at Riverdale Farmers Market

O'McPub Band at Riverdale Farmers Market

Thursday, June 15 @ 4:00PM — 7:00PM (EDT, UTC-04)Thu, Jun 15 @ 4:00PM — 7:00PM (EDT, UTC-04)

Riverdale Farmer's Market, 6220 Rhode Island Ave, Riverdale Park, MD 20737

Listen to some fun tunes while wandering around the Farmer's Market!

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Quarterway to St. Patrick's Day

Quarterway to St. Patrick's Day

Friday, June 16 @ 9:30PM — Saturday, June 17 @ 12:30AM (EDT, UTC-04)Fri, Jun 16 @ 9:30PM — Sat, Jun 17 @ 12:30AM (EDT, UTC-04)

Celtic House, 2500 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA 22204

The best Irish Pub in Arlington meets probably the best guitar/bodhran duo in the DMV! Come join us in celebrating we only have 3/4 of the year left until St. Patrick's Day!

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About O'McPub Band

Irish Band Seeking Venues

And Fun Audiences!

Joe Basso and Ryan-Allen McKinney are O'McPub Band, probably the best guitar/bodhran Irish duo in the DMV.

We've been playing in living rooms, backyards, and local establishments since 2017.

We enjoy performing a diverse repertoire of Irish pub tunes, rebel songs, and Celtic inspired pop music.

We are always looking for new opportunities to share the music we love. If you know of venues and events which support and enjoy live local music, please let us know by clicking on the "Reach Out" button below.

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Why the name O'McPub Band?

In Gaelic O’ means “grandson of” and Mc means “son of.”  

We are the sons and grandsons of a people who kept Irish culture and history alive through music, art, literature, food, drink, the gab and good craic. Through our music, we hope to honor those traditions, stories and songs we've encountered and the people who share them.

"The Pub", or public house, is central to life in Ireland and the Irish people. It is where the community gathers to reflect on the past, discuss the future, share knowledge, provide opinions, and enjoy each other’s company. Wherever we share our music, we hope to bring the pub, a community of people looking to enjoy life and share time together.

Reviews

Below are a few reviews as well as some venues and events we've performed at over the years. We are strong advocates for local businesses and supporting the building of community through the arts.

“The O'McPub Band has played several gigs at our establishment in Hyattsville, MD (Maryland Meadworks). Every time, they have brought an energy and enthusiasm that is contagious to everyone in the house! Ryan has an amazing voice and it seems like Joe can play any song on his guitar. They even throw in some creative covers in the traditional Irish mix. And, they always throw in a couple of Waterboys tunes just for me. We will be having them back regularly as they are hands-down one of our favorite bands (and we have a lot of bands).” - Ken Carter, Owner of Maryland Meadworks
“A professional duo that plays to the audience. They know their music and the Irish traditions but have a great contemporary feel. Everyone enjoys themselves when they play. Always on time in every way. I strongly recommend for any size venue.” - Ben Harper, Owner of My Dead Aunt's Books
“I had the pleasure of seeing O'McPub Band perform this past Saturday at an Irish pub in Wheaton, MD! It was SICK! The food was great, the beer was cold and the music was more fun than a pillow fight! My son had so much fun that he can't stop talking about the evening. The band's love for Irish music and entertaining a crowd is obvious and infectious! Plus, Janet, was gracious enough to grace the stage with her beautiful voice for a few songs. If you live in the DC area, you owe it to yourself to see them perform.” - Adisa G. - O'McPub Fan

Venues and Events

Maryland Meadworks

Maryland Meadworks

Streetcar 82 Brewing Co.

Streetcar 82 Brewing Co.

Sangfroid Distilling

Sangfroid Distilling

My Dead Aunt's Books

My Dead Aunt's Books

Arrow Bicycle

Arrow Bicycle

The Limerick Pub

The Limerick Pub

Denizens Brewing Co.

Denizens Brewing Co.

The Dubliner

The Dubliner

Exiles Bar

Exiles Bar

Kirwan's On The Wharf

Kirwan's On The Wharf

True Respite Brewing Company

True Respite Brewing Company

O'Toole's Restaurant & Bar

O'Toole's Restaurant & Bar

Celtic House

Celtic House

The Saloon on U Street

The Saloon on U Street

Hyattsville Porchfest

Hyattsville Porchfest

Hyattsville Final Friday

Hyattsville Final Friday

City of Hyattsville

City of Hyattsville

Riverdale Park Arts

Riverdale Park Arts

Dupont Little Flea Market

Dupont Little Flea Market

Maryland Special Olympics

Maryland Special Olympics

National Night Out

National Night Out

UP Porchfest

UP Porchfest

Brentwood Porchfest

Brentwood Porchfest

College Park Park Run

College Park Park Run

Institute of Study Abroad Ireland

Institute of Study Abroad Ireland

Education In Ireland

Education In Ireland

Riverdale Farmer's Market

Riverdale Farmer's Market

College Park Farmer's Market

College Park Farmer's Market

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